"This is not the time to pay" said the driver. Firmly. I nodded. Abandoned my attempt to insert a dollar note into the ticket machine and slinked away to the back of the bus. I’d headed into Seattle to meet old school friend Giles for lunch. Then a short foray around the centre of the city before heading back out to the suburbs of West Seattle.
Spotted a 54 bus pulling up at a busy city centre stop. Waited for a few moments for others ahead of me to board. Nobody did. Presuming they were all waiting for another service, jumped on. Greeted by an old lady moving slowly down the aisle with her walking frame. Mortified, quickly stepping back off.
Nobody spoke. The lady reached the step, unable to disembark without some help. Nobody moved. The driver asked if anyone would help. Nothing. Eager to redeem myself, I pushed forward once more, this time to assist, joined by another passenger. Hoping the assembled crowd would mistake me for an Australian. Probably time to return to the road.
